We wanted to share this survey with you from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to gather anonymous information on how racism, sexism, ableism and other forms of oppression show up in public school uniform policies, dress codes and their enforcement. The deadline in April 15th.
https://gaosurvey.gao.gov/jfe/
Who should fill out the survey?
They are looking for parents and youth over 18 whose children or themselves attended public school since the 2019-20 school year or later. They cannot take surveys from youth under 18 years old, unfortunately. Feel free to share with other parents and youth who fit the requirements.
How will the survey results be used?
The info they are gathering in the survey will be used in an upcoming report directed at Congress on the topic of dress codes and uniforms. In the past we have used previous GAO reports in our work, in particular a report from 2018 Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities. Since the survey is anonymous and they are just gathering information, they will not be following up to address issues that you are raising in your local school, they are just looking for examples to include in their report.
About the GAO from their website:
‘”GAO, often called the “congressional watchdog,” is an independent, non-partisan agency that works for Congress. GAO examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and provides Congress and federal agencies with objective, non-partisan, fact-based information to help the government save money and work more efficiently.”
Let me know if you have any questions!
Thank you,
DSC-National Staff
